Curing Epilepsy: Progress and Future Directions

Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/11/2011
3:45 pm - 4:35 pm

Paul Carney, Professor & Chief in Pediatric Neurology

During the past decade, substantial progress has been made in delineating clinical features of the epilepsies and the basic mechanisms responsible for these disorders. Candidate targets for cures are now based upon newly identified structural, functional, cellular and molecular processes and mechanisms that underlie epilepsy. However, epilepsy is increasingly recognized as a group of heterogeneous syndromes characterized by other conditions that co-exist with seizures. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral co-morbidities are common and offer fruitful areas for study. These advances in understanding mechanisms are being matched by the rapid development of new diagnostic methods and engineering therapeutic approaches. My talk will review these areas of progress and suggests specific goals that once accomplished promise to lead to cures for epilepsy.